


something new; an unexpected interlude

by supremely sinful (I_Am_Not_A_Robot)



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Attempted Murder, Conspiracies, Courting Rituals, Dubcon Cuddling, Flying, Human/Monster Romance, Language Barrier, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Misunderstandings, Obsession, One-Sided Attraction, POV Third Person Omniscient, Past Child Abuse, Pining, Science Fiction, Secret Organizations, Soul Bond, Tags May Change, Telepathy, Teratophilia, Unethical Experimentation, Violence, Weird Biology, cover-ups, he drinks his redbull, not beta read we die like mne, okay the tags have changed and here are the latest additions:, this monster has WINGS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:54:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23818039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Am_Not_A_Robot/pseuds/supremely%20sinful
Summary: It’s a simple romance story, really:A monster sees a human, falls in love with the human, and they both immediately get wrapped up in a giant conspiracy concerning a secret organization and the evil laboratory underneath the mountains, currently busy with some shifty experimentation... Just those normal romance-y things.Now, since nobody else seems to be doing anything, it’s up to them to figure out what the organization is planning and take it down before things get out of hand, and a vengeful “researcher” starts an interplanetary war.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 21
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> alright! let’s get this started!

it's a terrible thing that he craved him so dearly. he wanted. he saw him from far away and he wanted.

so he watched the boy, and waited for something to happen. what? he couldn't answer that. so he waited, and watched, and _waited and waited and waited_.

it wasn't good that he was what he was, or wanted what he wanted. he didn't even fully understand what he wanted.

he wanted to hold the boy, feel his skin, feel the warmth that circulated his veins. he wanted to horrify him beyond repair, and he wanted to comfort and lie next to him on stormy nights.

the human didn't know any of this. the human didn't _know._ he didn't know that there were a pair of eyes watching him, that a nightmarish abomination that weaved in and out of shadows wanted and wanted and kept wanting.

it was a whole month later when he showed himself to the human adolescent. it was an accident. the human was walking home, presumably from that building many kids of his age went to during the day, when he perched upon a cellphone tower in all his otherworldly glory, and peered silently down. he ached to be closer. he ached to swoop down and steal that young human far away from humanity's reach. but he didn't.

it was an empty street, but it was also still brash and careless to become this apparent to mortal eyes. someone was bound to spot him. he didn't expect that someone to be his human, that object of burning and confusing desire.

—

The human boy first saw it out of the corner of his eye, and then snapped his head up and to the left to better see the shape that sat upon one of the cellphone tower's metal rods. At that point, he froze, a scream building and getting choked in his throat.

Whatever was up there… was not normal. not normal in the least. He couldn't even begin to describe everything that was wrong with it and its existence. From the way it moved, to the shape of its body, to its burning focused gaze… everything unsettled him.

—

his heart could have just about exploded as soon as he made eye contact with the boy. oh, _god_ , he wanted to take him so badly. where? to do what? how greedy it was to desire something so much, yet be unable to voice why or what plans were held for it.

but now was not the time to make that move. it was too light out, and he hadn't even intended to show himself yet, let alone make contact and interact. this was too much, too soon, and he wasn't prepared to be seen. panicked and angry at himself for being so careless, he shot into the sky and above the clouds. 

clouds were safety, clouds were home. it was airy and quiet up here. dark, quiet, soft, and lonely. the clouds provided a way to hide from the land-creatures. they might have begun to send things into the sky recently, but compared to down there, this place was a safe-haven of emptiness.

the mesosphere cooled down the fire raging within him. it was difficult to fly this high up, but nobody went up here, and he could be left alone with this thoughts. noctilucent clouds swirled gently in his wake, shining and beautiful from up this high. in the far distance, way higher up, he spotted a satellite peacefully orbiting the earth.

calmed down — not happy, but calm, at least — he tumbled into a dive that landed him miles and miles away from the hometown of his human. the landing was rough and uncoordinated, but within the mountain range that bordered the town, so he could be comfortably far and yet close enough to not get… heartache-y.

that was not a good first meeting. the emotions he'd first felt upon laying eyes upon the boy mixed and muddled his mind, and he still wasn't sure whether he wanted to scare or love that young human. if it was the first, then he was off to a good start. if it was the latter… well, he'd repeat what he'd been repeating to himself for the entire duration of his flight — that was not a good first meeting. how could he even begin to win a human's favor if this was the start of their relationship? how could two very different species be compatible? it shouldn't be possible, but he would make it work. he wanted to make it work.

so that was settled, finally. a confusing mess of relief and fear washed through him. he didn't want to hunt, he wanted to court. was that a good thing? or was it awful?

—

Research had to be done.

Google provided a helpful list for "monsters in norway."

Nothing matched what Emil had seen, and that only made him more worried, and more scared; it fanned the flames of frightened curiosity.

What. Was. That. Thing?

He had to know. He had to know what he had seen, what it wanted, why he'd seen it watching out of the corner of his eyes so many times before. He'd been aware for a few weeks now, but this? Facing it directly, having a few seconds to comprehend its form? New. Never happened before, and it only confirmed what he'd been thinking.

Not a hallucination, not his eyes playing tricks on him. No, there was something out there. Something that had been _stalking him_ from above.

The ice that had flooded his veins just minutes earlier began to freeze again. Oh, yeah… right. It was probably hunting him. How does one go about facing off against a creature they've never seen before? Emil didn't even know the full extent of what it could do. His information was limited.

It could fly, he knew that for sure. Those wings were vast and dark. It could run off very quickly, fast enough to evade a person spinning around to catch the shadow in the corner of their eyes, paranoid. He'd seen it at all times of the day, so its sleeping cycle — if it had one — remained unknown. Its body was sleek and shined the colors of alexandrite when the light hit it perfectly. If he'd counted right in that split second, there were at least four limbs and a tail. It had teeth that looked like miniature blades in its mouth, silver and sharp.

Sort of like a dragon, but not. It was too mammalian for that, and there were no scales, just something that might've been sleek fur — he hadn't gotten enough time to inspect it. Its face wasn't like a dragon's, either. 

That concluded the things Emil knew about it and its habits. He didn't know how it hunted, what it ate (were humans on that list? He couldn't imagine why not), and how to beat it if a fight for his life was as imminent as he suspected. Because of that very fact, he had half a mind to just… not leave his house. Ever. Not until that thing had been gone for long enough.

…Would it be patient enough to wait that long? Would it wait outside his door, quiet and shadowed, until the moment he took a step out onto his front porch, at which point it would drop from the roof and kill him?

His thought were running wild with all the ways that creature could kill him. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay home forever. His parents wouldn't allow that. Tomorrow was Friday, which meant that he had to leave the house and go to school. At least then he'd be surrounded by other people, and there was safety in numbers. It was the walk _to_ and _from_ high school that worried him.

Twenty minutes could mean leaving home in the morning, and never making it to school.

— 

it hurt worse than hunger, it hurt worse than injury, this weight in his chest wanted to strangle him and crush his lungs! 

focus. he needed to focus, otherwise he'd _actually_ starve. directly below him a caribou grazed, unsuspecting of the dark shape circling above it. so easy to catch, and so rewarding too. he needed to focus and he could have a plentiful food-source for the next few days. 

but oh, every time he closed his eyes a million colors of emotions burst, a whole rainbow array of the things he was trying so hard to suppress, if only for now. yes, he would let himself indulge in the feeling of heartache, but not _now_ , not when he needed to _focus_ so he could catch something for breakfast.

the weak sunlight reflected off and shone through his thin wings, which had begun to look more and more like stained glass as he matured. they could create their own colors, too, in whatever pattern he wanted, if he thought about it and consciously made decisions. sometimes he accidentally glowed in places he didn't know he could. he was pretty sure the glows and colors would be good for communicating with, or dazzling, or confusing those who viewed them. 

unfortunately, if there was a language to these shifting patterns, he'd never been taught what it was. there was no other thing like him that could explain what the shapes meant or had the potential to mean.

however, he could easily put on a fanciful light show for the human, his _chosen_ one, that thing that kept _distracting_ him from the—

not good, not good! the caribou noticed it had lagged behind its herd and was about to run off to join them!

before it got a chance to run, while not even thinking of his movements, his instinct — primitive, refreshing, sharp and clear instinct — pushed everything away and forced his muscles into action. the dive, the slight parachuting just before he hit the ground (only enough not to splat against the dirt), the way he extended his lowest and strongest set of limbs and dug talons into flesh, forcing the caribou to tumble to the ground with a monster on top of it. it died, neck broken immediately upon impact. and then, before the herd noticed, he shifted himself and took off to the air again, wings flapping hard to lift into the air. though the caribou wasn't enormous, any added weight _was_ added weight, and it was big enough to be uncomfortable and make the flight wobbly and uneven and tiring.

he got back to his home with his wings aching and his stomach aching as he tried to push out the thoughts of his heart aching. 

would they dine together? could they? what could he possibly feed the human? how would he acquire the food he'd learned the human liked? many nights he'd spent staring into the human and his family's eating room, watching and deciphering the secrets of human cuisine. they put things over hot things first, usually, and not a lot of what they ate looked remotely close to the way it looked in nature. lots of things were completely unrecognizable. 

what, should he just waltz into a market to get these foods? he wasn't sure if that would work. perhaps breaking in at night...

too much of a risk. humans could be dangerous when scared enough, and he knew his appearance agitated them. it agitated most animals. it agitated everything that wasn't him, because there was only one of him and so much of everything else that wasn't anything like him. too many differences; lots of fear.

letting his tired wings drag along the cold stone floor, he fell forward onto his front limbs and got to work filling his stomach for the first time in five days. mighty long while since he ate, now that he thought about it. no wonder his stomach hurt.

— 

"So uh, just a hypothetical question. How would you, hypothetically of course, fight a monster you know nothing about?"

She looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Like in... D&D. If your dungeon master introduced a monster that nobody had heard of before, and didn't give you any info on how to beat it, just a brief description of what it looks like, how'd— how would you find a way to beat it?"

That familiar glint she got in her eyes when she was solving puzzles appeared. "I'd test things out, if time permitted. Do frequent perception checks—"

"No," Emil cut her off. "No time for that. Imagine this is real life. Like, there's an actual monster outside your bedroom door, and you're pretty sure it wants to eat you, and even if you've _done_ a lot of research, there still isn't _anything_ out there that would be helpful because apparently it doesn't— shouldn't— exist... but that doesn't stop it from existing and craving human for dinner. What do I do?"

She studied him closely. She looked into her best friend's eyes and didn't see hypothetical musings; she saw real instinctual fear. Carefully, she thought about how to answer this question. What she'd been saying about D&D still sort of applied to real life. "I'd track its habits and what scares it. Experiment and test which things it doesn't like, and then see if those are weaknesses. If its more paranormal, I'd go get help, in person, with people who know those things. If it's leaning towards animal, I think it's safe to assume that the monster is mortal, and can die by mortal means. Usually what it looks like is a good way to tell what things hurt it. Things with thick skin might not get hurt by dull knives, but heat might hurt them. If it spends a lot of time in darkness, light may be a useful weapon to disorient it. You understand?"

He sighed, so quietly she almost didn't catch it. "Y-yeah, that makes sense."

Before she could poke and prod her way into making him confess to what he'd seen, he hastily stood up, pulled his backpack around his shoulders, and hurriedly left the school building. As she waited for her mom to pick her up, she watched him go. 

He kept glancing at the sky. 

Excitement burst like mini fireworks in her chest. She'd always known monsters were real. Maybe her friend was the bridge she needed to cross to get to them. 

— 

things got more painful every once in awhile. it was a cycle. he'd start feeling more alone, more sensitive. the cold wind bit instead of blowing, the sun felt hot when it should only be warm, and his heart thudded when he saw someone pretty.

it always left after a day or two, and then didn't return for an entire two moon cycles, and then it would come back... the nagging in the back of his mind that he needed someone to spend time with. for what? why? who? he didn't know, only that he wanted to be touched, and his skin was prickling with the absence of companionship.

this... this hurt. this hurt so much.

pathetic, how pathetic! he wanted to get up and stand at his full height, or at least in a normal posture, but this... this was so close to fully just flopping down pitifully that he almost laughed, bitterly, at the mental image his mind conjured.

he couldn't tear his gaze away from the human boy, couldn't make himself move from this position he'd taken laying flat on top of a building, trying to ignore the shudders and convulsing of his heart and that other organ he didn't usually think about. 

oh but it _hurt_ now, and his heart ached, his head pounded, his— his mouth salivated? what?!

that kid was drawing closer, and he breathed in deep, smelling the familiar scent even from all the way up here. a wave of dizziness washed over him, and he keened. 

he keened! he uselessly _cried out_ like a chick asking for food from its mother. weak chirps of unhappiness left him, and he pulled himself closer to the edge of the roof, watching as intently as he could, his superior vision trained on the human boy. he wants. painfully so, he wants.

he WANTS, damn it!

his entire circulatory system was running so hard he could feel his veins throbbing against his muscles, which were tensed as if ready to take off even though he had no plans to. 

his whole body had heated up uncomfortably, which made him reconsider the plan of not taking off. maybe he needed a trip towards the pole, where the ice got thicker. or maybe he needed to fly all the way into space, and take a vacation on neptune until his heart settled and his body stopped involuntarily trembling with anticipation for a thing he didn't even understand. 

a snowflake drifted down and landed on one of his arms. he could've sworn the frozen water sizzled.

this was officially the worst period in this never ending cycle. the last times it had been tolerable, but this... he felt like his sanity was crumbling.

and _that_ was the very reason he didn't know if he could fly right now. he was sure his wings wouldn't coordinate right, he'd lose his mind mid-flight and he'd end up somewhere far from his intended destination.

that, or he'd flutter down to the human boy, and wrap him in his arms, nuzzle him, taste him, breathe him in, touch his skin and let himself be touched...

he shook his head wildly, trying to free his brain from the thoughts that had latched on without his permission. 

if he let himself think about it, it might happen before he could stop himself. and then what? how would he deal with the aftermath of letting every human on that street see him cuddle a human just because his body made him want to?? he'd be hunted and killed faster than it takes a dust particle in a tornado to make a full rotation.

utterly distraught, he let out a soft, miserable trill, begging the universe to be nice and stop whatever was happening to him. he couldn't take it. he just couldn't.

shutting his eyes tight as the boy walked along the sidewalk directly below his current spot—

(now's the chance to _take him_ , whatever that means)

—he waited until the smell got fainter before he let himself see the world again. he was quite sure that if he hadn't momentarily rendered himself blind, he really would have lost all self control. that would be bad.

it would be terrible.

even more so than what he was and what he wanted, _actually going through_ with what he wanted was at the top of his list of things that were terrible right now in this moment. it was at the top of his list of forbidden things. 

breathing hard with desire for that human boy, he watched from a distance until the boy turned a corner, and he couldn't watch anymore.

he'd waited out these weird cycles. he'd wait out this one as well, no matter how much his body instinctively screamed for another body pressed against his (right now! right _now_! and it had to be him, it had to be that human! no one else would do!). he could be patient. he'd be patient as long as he had to for this emotional storm to pass.

he'd wait, and wait, and wait. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lots and lots and LOTS of repetition here! i'm so sorry about that, it just comes out accidentally because i'm a crap author who likes to reuse words and ignore the perfectly helpful thesaurus open in the tab right next to this one!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's huntin' time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not so sure about the pacing here, and it's a little shorter than the last chapter, but here y'all go!
> 
> i accidentally created the kindling for an angsty plot, which means that this story might go on longer than i originally planned... haha......

Ozlem decided enough was enough. She'd kept bringing up topics about things that should've led to Emil describing what he'd seen, but their conversations continued to be a nimble dance around what she really wanted to hear.

So, yeah, after they went out to get donuts one afternoon and Emil made her fetch her car to drive them because he "just didn't feel like walking that day," Ozlem decided it was time to be blunt about it. Impatient as she was, she waited until they'd returned to her car to start talking. It was as soon as he slid into the passenger seat and closed the door behind him that she turned, set her donut on her lap, and spoke.

"Alright, Emil. I won't think you're crazy, just tell me what you saw."

He feigned confusion. "What I saw? I didn't see anything, I- I don't know what you're talking about. Specifics, please?"

"Remember that conversation we had a few days ago? You asked about how to fight a monster?"

Emil nodded hesitantly.

"Yeah, I know you weren't being 'hypothetical' about it. So tell me the truth. What does it look like? When did you first spot it?"

"But I—"

"Don't lie, Emil. You're my best friend! I won't call you crazy." She leaned in close, even if the conversation was already as secretive as it could be, considering they were talking in a car whose windows and doors weren't open. "I actually, well… I believe in the paranormal too. I don't ever talk about it, because I know people would call me crazy, but… I've seen things. Inexplicable things."

Emil didn't know how to respond. Relief lifted the weight off his shoulders. "That's…" he chuckled, half nervous and half ecstatic. "That's actually kinda nice to hear. I thought I was going crazy."

"So you really did see something?"

"It's been following me for awhile, so yeah."

Ozlem had to try hard not to smile, because that would be very insensitive. Still… this was great! She wasn't alone, and if it was following her friend, that meant it would show up again, and she'd get to see it too! Maybe even catch in on camera. Although the idea of using her best friend as bait seemed a little villainous, Ozlem believed that nothing bad would come of it if they were careful. "Following you? You've seen it more than once?"

"For the past few weeks now, I've seen it out of the corner of my eye, but last week we sorta had a staring match or something. I mean, I was walking home, and I turned and it was there. Just sitting on a cellphone tower, looking at me. After about five seconds it shot off into the air, abruptly, and that's the most I've seen of it since."

That explained his sudden apprehension of the sky. "And you think it's hunting you?"

"Yeah."

Ozlem thought for a minute. She thought about how much fame she'd get if she had actual, believable evidence of an unknown creature. She thought about the shape she'd seen hurtling into the mountains a few days ago. "I think I have an idea. How do you feel about taking a hike?"

—

Off to the mountains, then. It's time to end this.

The plan was insane, really. More than insane. Emil might have truly lost it, because why else would he have agreed? 

He _did_ agree, and that's why he's staring at a packed duffel bag with food, some cans of coke, a flashlight, and a sleeping bag. Glancing every once in awhile at his room's door, he listened to make sure his family didn't wander in on what probably looked like evidence that he was running away from home (which they'd be right about, because he was, but only temporarily). 

See, his friend and him had hatched a plan that would end in either three things, and it was too dangerous for anyone to know what was going on.

1\. They trap and kill the monster, and profit from its dead body. The whole world goes nuts.

2\. They trap and study the monster. The scientific community erupts into turmoil, and then the world does when word gets out about the living and unnatural specimen two seniors had caught in a small town smack dab in the middle of a valley. Humanity riots.

3\. They attempt to trap the monster, and it kills them before they can. Their corpses are found days later by hikers. The newspaper profits. Their respective families lose it. 

A 2/3 chance (with no math behind it) that he _wouldn't_ die was good enough for him. Emil was tired of being scared, and tired of not knowing anything about the flying shadow in the corner of his eye. He wanted it to end, all the paranoia and unease that had clung to him and bore heavy on his mind; it was a thundercloud of anxiety and stress, and he sorely missed the sunshine. 

Ozlem, having recently revealed herself as an aspiring cryptozoologist, told Emil that she'd found out where the monster nested. 

In the mountains, about eleven miles from the center of town, Ozlem had spotted that hovering menace fly into and fly away from a certain spot in the range. Everyone who lived here long enough knew those mountains were peppered with caves and outcroppings. Most weren't big enough to live in or explore, but there were a few that had been hot spots of exploration... that was, until a mysterious rock slide killed a group of spelunkers. The entire area had been sealed and off-limits out of fear of ensuing deaths; according to the mayor, the caves weren't stable enough for humans to go poking around. 

Nobody watched to make sure the citizens followed the rules, however. No one would see two teens on a hike in the middle of the night, lugging a few suspicious items with them (and none that looked fit for spelunking. who brings a rifle to a caving trip?). 

Emil silently thanked the universe that Ozlem knew how to shoot a gun, and thanked his own boy scouts experiences for the fact that he could tie a secure knot. 

He put a long and sturdy rope he'd stolen from his dad's side of the garage into the duffel bag, and placed a large kitchen knife on top of that. Feeling so _very_ confident, he shoved the duffel bag under his bed and tried to calm himself down. Pre-monster fight shivers, he guessed. He literally couldn't stop shaking. 

Jumping a whole foot in the air when he heard his mom yell, Emil couldn't help but laugh at himself. "Get a grip on yourself," he hissed under his breath, pausing a moment to smooth his hair in the mirror before heading over to help with chores. It would be weird if he went down there appearing like he'd just resurfaced from the depths of a harsh panic attack.

Which he definitely hadn't.

Not in any way, shape, or form was he panicking.

—

Ozlem was ecstatic. So much so, in fact, that when her mom noticed and asked about what made her so smiley, she panicked and lied about her crush saying something nice to her that day.

Her crush hadn't said anything, really, because her crush was popular and didn't like hanging out with weird kids who go to shooting ranges with their divorced dad every other weekend. Ozlem was pretty sure her crush was more interested in a different type of person, and nothing about Ozlem checked a single requirement on the list that she was sure her crush had. 

The real reason she was ecstatic was the fact that she was really going out to hunt a monster tonight. Finally, it was happening. All those years of believing in the unknown were about to segue into a career of finding and researching the discoverable yet-to-be-known. No mystery would hide from her; no creature would lurk in the dark, yielding not to scientific inquiry. 

No, she would make known the so called impossibilities. She would become famous and rich and she'd open a whole new branch of zoology. 

That is, _cryptozoology_.

Lifting her camera close to her face, she beamed brightly. "You and I are gonna do big things together. Big, important things."

Resting as much as she could while packing her supplies — she'd need the extra energy — Ozlem got ready for the midnight expedition into the mountains. She didn't need to worry about her parents, because tonight was Date Night. They were booking a hotel, which meant that in approximately one hour she'd have the house to herself.

Impatient, she waited for the sun to set.

—

They met up under cover of darkness. Ozlem drove and parked her car a block away from Emil's house, and then sent a text to let him know it was time.

'Let's go.'

(She added the period because the text just didn't feel serious enough for the occasion without it).

Emil sneaked his way around the house, slinking down dark hallways and tiptoeing behind the couch while his family sat down to watch a movie. He told him he was tired and wanted to go to bed early, so they wouldn't be suspicious about the fact that he never sat down on the couch to watch the movie too. Now, when he didn't come down for breakfast the next morning... that would be later. He'd deal with that ~~if~~ ~~—~~

He'd deal with that once he got home.

Out he slipped into the cool night, jacket zipped against the cold. The weather report said it shouldn't snow tonight, and he hoped it wouldn't, because it would be pretty unlucky if they were caught out in the mountains while a blizzard built, blocking their way home. That was another threat, added on top of the rock slides and the monster itself. 

Freezing to death. Terrible way to go, if you ask Emil. 

Would it be better than being mauled? Probably.

As casual as a teen could possibly look when escaping his house with a duffel bag, he made his way to his friend's car, eyeing the houses as he went by. Some had their lights on, and some looked dark and quiet. 

_'Please don't see me, please don't see me...'_

He made it, with no suspicious neighbors asking what he was doing outside so late at night, and _do your parents know you're going out?_ Relieved, he swung his duffel bag into the backseat and hopped into the passenger side of the car. Ozlem grinned at him.

"I don't know why you're so happy. We literally might die."

"And we literally might not," she opposed, self-confidence oozing into her tone. She couldn't let him have second thoughts on this, and they didn't have time to debate. Knowing his personality, all he really needed was a leader to reassure him everything would be alright. Ozlem was that leader. Call it manipulative, it didn't matter. She was gonna use everything she had to make sure this chance didn't slip away. "You know, if this works out we'll definitely get rich. And famous. And our names will be written in history books forever. This is an undiscovered and possibly alien species! Imagine being known as the guy who proved it exists! It would be amazing."

Surprisingly, he didn't dissent against that. "That's... that's true," he said, words shaky but still strong. "We've got this, right?"

"Hell yeah we do."

"...Well then, what's keeping us?"

Ozlem stepped on the gas.

—

it was as he tipped into a dive, about to land on the entrance to his home, that he noticed the figure there standing on the cold rocks, bundled up in an adorable jacket.

in his surprise, he lost his balance and almost crashed, pulling up at just the right second to shoot up the face of the mountainside, barely avoiding tearing his wings on the jagged rocks. somehow the boy didn't see or hear this. he looked busy, fiddling with something inside a bag.

he came. the human followed him to his home? _his_ cave? but… why?

suspicion had no place in his heart, not with the storm of emotions that raged within him, and the way the heat in his mind kept urging him to recognize that this might be a sign of something. maybe the universe was helping him out.

maybe he wouldn't have to suppress how much he desired the boy.

maybe he could court him, right here and right now, underneath a blanket of stars.

half delirious with shock and _need_ , he attempted the dive again. this time it was successful, each purposeful movement in his body bringing him into the most elegant landing he'd ever managed before. he had to be elegant. he had to be pristine. how else would this work? 

the human flinched at the sudden flurry of wind and shiny not-quite-feather-not-quite-fur, stumbling backwards and falling onto his butt. 

he tilted his head, looking at the bag in the human's hands. what was in it? 

_'doesn't matter,'_ the fervid part of him quickly reminded. nothing matters except one thing. one thing only.

_i want him. i want him. i want him._

walking around the clearing, circling the boy, he pushed his confusion to the edge of his mind, and focused on an impromptu (but welcome, oh so VERY welcome, so very much wanted, so very much fantasized about) task.

heat curled in his gut. 

alright, he could do it. his crest fanned out, luminescent and colorful. he spread his wings, transforming his silhouette into a dark crescent moon, and sang a short melody that said "hey, don't leave! i'm strong, i'm confident, i'm vibrant, i'm healthy — i could be a useful and contributing partner!" the human looked at him, pale and dumbfounded, so he repeated again, drawing out the notes as if that could make the human understand. with a sharp flick of his tail, a snapping noise sounded, and he did it again: a short percussive beat, a testimony to his physical strength. if that wasn't impressive enough, would his flying skills do better instead? he _had_ to find some way to impress this human.

no more waiting.

—

…Okay! That was very strange! Was it an aggressive display of some sort? It looked threatening. Straining his eyes in the darkness, Emil backed off, slowly, the monster's eyes never leaving him. His heart pounded in his chest. Would he even make it out of this alive?

—

shame hit him like a brick in the face.

s-so he was retreating?! it hadn't worked! he _bored_ him! that wasn't supposed to happen, how— how could it happen?!

a frantic hue rippled and pulsed along his veins, and he froze when he heard a voice come from the side. whipping his head around to look for the source, straining his ears, he was a little freaked out that he couldn't find the source. it sounded human and feminine.

the boy responded, and pulled something out of his jean pocket. he flipped a switch, and a beam hit the monster in the face.

he reared back, shutting his eyes tight against the visual onslaught. what was _that_?!

was it... an attempt at communication? maybe the human understood what he was trying to say, and this was his way of saying ' _the feelings are reciprocated!_ ' since he didn't have bio-luminescence to talk with? his body warmed even more at the thought.

he wanted to believe it was true, so he slowly opened his eyes, getting used to the sheer brightness of that flashlight. it hurt a little to look at, but he could handle it. he'd handle anything if it could lead to happiness. finally, happiness. finally, relief. 

his body was about to burn. if this didn't work, he was sure he'd straight up die.

even if that unsettling female was watching from somewhere, he thought... he could work with this. it was a little weird, but he could work with it. he'd have to work with it. when would he get another chance like this? 

—

Emil held his breath, and forced his body to stay still. His hands grew clammy and his mouth dried. It took a lot of effort not to tremble uncontrollably.

It crept closer, and then stood on its hind legs. Emil noticed just how tall this thing was. It must've been ten feet in length, which meant that when it spread its wings out again, his entire field of vision was obscured with its dark, almost-feathered-but-not-quite-furred-either body.

He bowed his head, eyes downcast to the rocky floor. Emil could feel its body heat, a stifling presence that pressed in on him the closer it got. "God, if you're up there... please don't let me die."

Even with his instincts screaming at him to take a hike immediately, his legs refused to move. Sudden movements might lead to a sudden death... so he stayed still. 

The strange creature lowered its face to his, and Emil was sure he'd have a heart attack.

And then it shoved its face into his chest and inhaled. 

—

**his heart sang in holy chorus.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so they finally meet face to face!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a brief moment, there is peace. 
> 
> ...That moment is quickly shattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:  
> it is strongly insinuated that one of the characters had an abusive childhood. they come into contact with their abuser, and it is all around not a good time. 
> 
> i'm afraid to say the sections aren't skippable because of their importance to the plot, but please do proceed with caution if that sort of thing hits too close to home. there's nothing explicitly described, but the hints are definitely there.
> 
> yeah... hoo howdy, this story is about to take a plunge into "oh god oh heck"-ville. strap on your best cowboy boots, fellas. the ride is not a smooth one.

a breath of sweet heaven.

that was a breath of lovely, beautiful, relieving heaven. 

with a soft chirp —  _ i need you, i LOVE you _ — he lifted his clawed hand and touched the human’s face, feeling the soft skin there. so soft, so pretty. 

finally, he was close to the object of his obsession, the source of his mixed emotions for so long! he was close enough to see every detail in the human teen’s amber eyes, enough to see into his soul and hear his heartbeat and breathe the air the human shakily exhaled.

the human’s skin smelled of fear, and his heartbeat had sped up considerably… but there was also the scent of awestruck wonder and that emotion one gets when peering at something beautiful and otherworldly. 

awestruck was good. awestruck was better than terror. as the seconds wore by, the fear receded, ebbing away and—

the human slowly reached up, hesitant of making any sudden movements, and touched the hybrid’s neck, fingertips breezing over the proto-feathers and sending a shiver down the monster’s body. he chirped again.  _ that’s right, don’t fear me. please don’t be afraid. i want you _ . 

—

Emil was gradually getting used to this moment, trying to calm himself and assure himself that he wouldn’t die an early death. It was obvious the monster didn’t want to eat him… unless it nuzzled  _ all _ of its prey like this, which he was kinda sure it didn’t. 

He hoped it didn’t. 

Turning his head and making eye contact with Ozlem, he was about to tell her to pull the string and let the net drop down when—

**CHAOS** erupted. 

Before he could even open his mouth, the monster violently whipped around, screeched, and then there was yelling and a few gunshots split the air, painfully loud. In the distance, Emil saw the headlights of a few trucks pulling up, and the wind picked up and howled around him.

He flung himself backwards in time to avoid a wing slicing through the air, where it surely would’ve cut him in half. Emil dove behind a boulder, watching with wide eyes as the scene unfolded. A giant helicopter landed in the clearing, lowering itself from the sky like a fat metallic dragonfly. The monster fell to the ground, weakly struggling to get up as it was tied and dragged into a cage of sorts by a group of people in unrecognizable uniforms. One of the them pulled out a handheld radio from his belt and shouted something into it. 

To his far right, he watched in horror as another man lifted Ozlem onto a stretcher. She was passed out cold. Did they tranq her or something?! She disappeared into the back of one of the trucks, which promptly tore off down a dirt road. 

Breathing hard and close to panicking, Emil dragged his duffel bag closer to him, shuffling through the contents until he found what he was looking for. 

Unfamiliar voices conversed nearby, just out of sight. 

“Were there any other witnesses?”

Emil tied a rope around his waist with trembling fingers, failing to get the knot right twice before it finally worked.

“The girl wasn’t alone, sir. There was a boy with her.”

He tucked the flashlight in the makeshift belt, and then the knife, still sheathed. 

“Spread out and look for him, then! If something  _ moves _ , SHOOT IT. No hesitation. That boy is a liability.”

Frantic, Emil looked around for an escape, when he saw it: a steep, jagged path leading down the mountainside. It was short enough that he could climb down it. Keeping his eyes trained in the direction of…  _ whoever _ those people were… Emil climbed down the steep incline, belly flat against the rocks. The sharp rocks scraped him, tearing through his clothes and digging into his skin. One step at a time, he inched his way down. Only three feet down…

The rocks under his feet crumbled and he lost his footing, sliding down the rest of the distance and shredding through his jacket and the knee of his jeans. He yelped at the pain and sudden fall.

The jacket wouldn’t come free of the rock it had been hooked on. He tugged, but it wouldn’t get loose! He was trapped! Desperation tearing at his lungs, Emil yanked himself out of the jacket, leaving it there on the mountainside. 

As soon as his feet touched down on the flat ground, Emil ran. He ran as fast as he could, tripping a couple times but somehow managing to stay upright. Blood dribbled from his multitude of cuts and scrapes, and stained the material of his clothing. A hole had been torn through his jeans on his left knee, and the blood was soaking the cloth there, trapping fibers and dust and bits of rocks inside the hideous scrape. It hurt to walk on, but his adrenaline muffled his screaming nerves, and Emil ran. 

Just as he was getting far away from the clearing, he bumped into something hard and tall. 

One of those people in the unrecognizable uniforms! The man shone a flashlight at Emil, and then immediately reacted by lifting his gun and pointing it at Emil’s face. 

Instinct pushed Emil into action. He threw all his weight at the man, slamming his elbow into the man’s chest and knocking him backward. Before the man could get back up, Emil took the knife out of his belt, unsheathed it and stabbed it deep into the man’s shoulder. 

Listening to the stranger yell in agony, Emil tore off once more. The roaring in the sky got louder, and he chanced a look up, shivering in the cold. 

The helicopter from earlier flew above, blocking out the stars, its massive presence dark and silhouetted against the night sky. 

—

She woke up in a blindingly white place. She couldn’t tell if she was still dreaming or not. Her head hurt. 

“Is she awake?”

“Yes, sir.”

Someone leaned over her, and spoke softly. “You are dreaming. You hit your head and everything that you saw was a hallucination.”

...And she slipped back into the void.

—

Wherever that helicopter was headed was where Emil needed to go. It was flying deeper into the mountain range, the same direction the trucks had gone. 

Hungry and sore and exhausted, Emil kept his eyes on the shape as it disappeared behind a peak, and continued in that direction. Having left his jacket behind, the chill of the mountains seeped into him, wrapping its icy tendrils around his bones and clawing at his lungs with every breath. His leg hurt, his fingers were numb, and every once in awhile he’d bend his knee too far and the scab would reopen, letting another fresh wave of blood gush down and dry on his ankle. 

The hike was horrible, to say the least. Well deserving of a 0/10 rating and a scathing review. Well, at least the stars looked pretty and bright, so maybe it should be a 1/10, but only because the constellations were dazzling. Other than that, it was awful.

Determined to get to Ozlem and un-kidnap her, Emil forced his legs to keep moving. The ground was uneven and that chill seeped further in. He hated it. He hated the cold. 

_ Freezing to death. Terrible way to go.  _

An even darker darkness than the surrounding night dotted his peripheral vision, creeping in and growing bigger with each passing minute. Emil blinked tiredly, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the black stain and the lights that blinked and wavered in front of his eyes, obscuring the mountain in front of him. 

...Wait.

Those weren’t lights swimming in his eyes.

They were beacons. A road carved into the mountainside, curving gently and down into the natural space between mountain peaks. Blue beacons of light lit up its edges, outlining the road to make sure the trucks driving on it didn’t drive  _ off _ it and fall to an explosive death. Emil followed the lights with his eyes, tracing the road until he saw a door split the rock open, like a terrible gaping mouth in the mountainside, leading to the hot magma belly miles beneath the Earth’s surface. The door slid upwards, revealing a darkness inside that the trucks drove into. 

Once the last of the trucks were in, the door slid down and then…

Holy shit. Was he seeing things? Was he hallucinating? 

The colors changed and shifted until the garage door had perfectly camouflaged itself to blend in with the rocks around it. 

—

glass trapped him. he paced around the glass box, glaring at the people around him. uselessly, he scratched at the walls of the translucent cage, even though the walls showed no signs of erosion. he needed to escape. claustrophobia was suffocating him. those humans stayed their distance, thankfully, but didn’t leave.

these… these  _ scientists… _

the door swung open, and all conversation halted. the head researcher walked in, his imposing presence sucking the life out of the room. his lifeless, cold eyes swept around, taking in the scene. for a moment, the only sound in the room was the echo of his boots against the concrete.

he walked towards the glass containment unit, and spoke. strangled, inhuman sounds left his throat — hisses and clicks and noises that no human should be able to make. the rest of the scientists in the room averted their eyes, a deep unease settling in that made the small hairs on their body stand up; it sent goosebumps skittering across the surface of their skin; a few shifted their weight, that instinctual urge telling them to move, to _ get away _ . 

“welcome back. it’s been awhile, wouldn’t you say?”

the monster hissed back at him, standing up to his full height and dwarfing everyone in the room in his attempt to intimidate the head researcher. 

“you escaped only a little over a decade ago, and you’ve already forgotten how to talk? i’m disappointed, 19. very disappointed.”

it was difficult to respond, the muscles of his syrinx flexing around words he hadn’t bothered to voice in years. “g-g… go.”

a spark of curious light returned to the head researcher’s grey eyes, colorless and pale as a deep-sea fish that hasn’t tasted sunlight in a millennia. “hm, what was that? so you remember how to talk after all. go on, i’m listening.”

“l- lee….t. letttt me go.”

“so that’s the greeting you give me? where ever have your manners  _ gone _ ? that’s rude, 19.” 

abruptly, the researcher slammed his fist against the glass enclosure, leaning closer to the glass. the other scientists in the room jumped at the sudden noise. someone dropped a stack of papers, and they fluttered to the ground like the feathers of a dying dove. 

the monster startled, falling backwards against the wall farthest from the blond head researcher. the sound reverberated around the inside of the cage, and the blunt hit shook not just the glass, but also repressed memories from his childhood free from the chains he’d bound them in. the monster sunk to the ground, his multi-colored eyes wide, a deep-seated panic taking hold of him. 

“you are in no position to be making demands like that, 19. I  _ MADE _ YOU. you owe your  _ life _ to me. you’re not going to escape again so easily,” the head of the project hissed, and then moved backwards, casual and relaxed, lengthening the distance between the two. in a single moment he had become as composed and refined as ever, as if that brief outburst had never occurred. smile pleasant but not reaching his eyes, he tilted his head, ice-cold gaze freezing the monster’s very soul and dredging long-abandoned fear up from the depths of his mind. “welcome back to hell,  _ son _ .”

— 

Ozlem woke up in a hospital, confused and hosting a terrible headache. Not long after, a nurse entered the room, and briskly walked to the bedside to check up on Ozlem. 

Her voice was scratchy when she spoke. “What happened? How long have I been out?”

“Well I don’t know about that, but you were admitted to the hospital just four hours ago. You fell and hit your head, dear. Apparently you were hiking up in the mountains. You know, this is exactly why it’s illegal to go up there! Too much of a danger. It’s a miracle you only got a light concussion, and nothing worse.” Shaking her head, the nurse walked over and opened the blinds covering the window, revealing a rosy sunrise peaking over the horizon. “ _ Tsk _ , kids these days…”

“H-hey, miss. Where’s Emil?”

The nurse looked at her quizzically. “Emil? I’m afraid we don’t have a patient under that name here. Was he with you on the hike?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Don’t worry, I’m sure you friend is okay.”

Something didn’t feel right. “How did I get here?”

The nurse smiled. “Some very nice scientists found you. Apparently they were conducting geographical tests, and came across you, passed out. They brought you here. Very nice people, indeed… you’re very lucky such a wonderful group found you.”

Ozlem blinked sluggishly. Her head pounded. “Oh.” She didn’t remember any of that, but attributed it to the fact that she’d just had a huge fall. Maybe it had knocked the memories away along with her consciousness. “Can I leave yet?”

“We need to make sure you’ll be okay. Just a few tests, and then you can go.”

Ozlem nodded her agreement, but a nagging feeling still bounced around her head, persistent that something didn’t add up. What was wrong, though, she couldn’t tell. 

Where was her best friend? 

—

A secret facility, apparently. 

Emil walked along the road, passing by the blue beacons (they were so much brigher up close), and made it to the camouflaged garage door. He couldn’t exactly see it, but he knew he was there because of the suspiciously smooth floor coming up against a sudden steep incline. Mountains usually don’t host vertical drops into flat ground like this. 

Beside the massive door was another, smaller door. This one looked meant for humans, and although hard to pick apart from the mountain, it wasn’t as well disguised as the big garage door. With nothing left to lose and so much to get back, Emil swung the door open.

Surprisingly, that worked. What kind of secret facility doesn’t lock its doors?

His answer came immediately upon entering the eerie room and stumbling into a mess. Farther in the dark room the roof had caved, and a pile of rocks and debris covered half the floor. The rest of the room held technology that looked so up-to-date it could’ve been used yesterday. In fact, it did look like it was used yesterday, and that the tech wasn’t broken— it was turned off. 

On every single one of the mysterious machines taking up space in the room, on every laptop resting on a table, and even painted into the floor was a logo he’d never seen before. It looked like Saturn; instead of smooth rings, a strand of DNA curled around the planet. Was this a secret laboratory under the mountain? A secret society, perhaps? What had he just found??

Emil felt guilt curling in his guts, hot and shameful. How could he let this happen? He never should’ve dragged Ozlem into this. That monster was  _ his _ problem, not hers. And now look what had happened! A shady organization had kidnapped her! If he didn’t find and save her, he’d never be able to live with himself. 

Delving farther into the room, Emil listened carefully for the noise of anyone around. He knew very well that he could die in here, but it was a risk he  _ had _ to take. Turning a corner, Emil found a square beam of light shining through a door and illuminating dust that floated lazily through the static air. Emil walked towards the door, and tried the handle. It didn’t budge.

Okay, so at least this door was locked. The secret organization won back a bit of his respect. 

He peered through the door, listening to the faint voices on the other side. Something in his gut told him he had to go through that door. Something called to him, a whispering voice that tugged at his core in this direction, an inner compass whose needle insistently pointed at  _ something _ past that door. 

A person’s frame suddenly filled the window, and Emil threw himself to the side in time to avoid getting hit by the door, which swung outward by itself with a woosh. Two women, one holding a card that had unlocked the door, and the other holding a Geiger counter, hurried past. In their rush, they didn’t notice the teen crouching on the floor right beside the door. He watched as they ran down the same hallway he had just left, and then snuck through the door before it could swing shut. 

That was it. That was the leap into the point of no return. He could no longer turn back, not now. He was locked inside the facility, and there was only one way to go: 

Forward.

On the other side of the door was an absolutely gigantic hangar (read: big parking garage for a secret organization). It was as big as a natural cave, but nothing in here looked organic. Level with the outside ground, the hangar housed multiple machines and vehicles. Emil saw a row of those trucks from earlier, two midnight-painted military helicopters, some machines he simply couldn’t name, and—

What the hell. Was that a spaceship? That’s a spaceship! These people had a goddamn  _ rocket _ !

“Wow, okay…” Emil breathed, stunned. Of course, the secret laboratory underneath the mountains had spacecraft. 

Everything in this room was also branded with that DNA-planet logo, so it was no doubt to whom all this belonged.

On the far side of the room was an area, fenced off from everything else. Construction workers and engineers were building something in there, crawling along the scaffolding and appearing very much like ants from this distance. As busy as they were with that, no one noticed the intruder standing in the control room, an arm’s length away from buttons that could ruin their whole operation in a second. 

Near the door leading into the abandoned wing of the facility was an elevator. Emil pushed the button, and was very relieved to find it empty when the doors pulled apart, revealing a roomy interior. Emil gave one last longing glance at the beautiful and elegant spacecraft — he still retained some of his fascination with the job of “astronaut” that he’d developed as a young boy. Some dreams never die. 

With that, he walked into the elevator. The doors slid closed behind him, and he was left facing the control panel.

...15.

FIFTEEN fucking floors. 

Exactly how big was this place?!

And he was on the top floor, which meant that the facility only extended downwards into the bowels of the Earth. That earlier metaphor describing the gaping mouth in the mountain came back to haunt him. He really felt like this facility would digest him alive. 

A twinge of fear at the sheer size of the problem he was up against sparked in his gut. Emil wondered how nobody had noticed the facility that burrowed deep and far underneath the mountain range. How long had it been here? How does someone even go about building something like this? Who was behind it? Surely the government had to be aware. 

That thought didn’t comfort him at all, actually. 

As astonished as he was at the size of this facility, he knew that he’d easily search every square inch of all 15 floors if that’s what it took to find his friend and satisfy whatever was urging him to follow its call deeper into the facility. 

—

She was discharged from the hospital early, and Ozlem went home. Her family was overjoyed, and anxious, and emotional, and very LOUD. It seemed they’d all had heart attacks during the short time she was missing. 

Her mother immediately pulled Ozlem into a bone-crushing hug as soon as her father led her back into the house. “Aşkim, if you ever almost die like that again, I will finish the job for you,” her mother threatened, kissing her head and starting to cry. 

Ozlem promised that she  _ absolutely wouldn’t do that again _ , that  _ she’d be safe, _ that  _ she’d never go on a hike again _ , if only to calm her mother’s frayed nerves. 

As happy as she was to be back home, Ozlem  _ still _ couldn’t get rid of the feeling that she forgot something. What was missing? Why couldn’t she remember anything about last night? 

—

19 wasn’t cooperating. 

he didn’t like when 19 didn’t cooperate. he didn’t like that 19 had escaped. 

unfortunately, he was  _ very _ fond of punishment. 

—

He reached the 14th floor quickly. The elevator doors smoothly parted, and Emil hadn’t even taken  _ one _ step through when a horrifying scream assaulted his ears. It chilled him to his bones. 

Confused and scared, Emil took another hesitant step into the blindingly white hallway. The elevator doors shut behind him, leaving him with no escape from this eerily sterile hall. One more step, and a sudden burst of fire spread up his left leg. The bloody scrape, which had since scabbed, split open again. Emil choked on his spit in shock. 

The phantom pain curled up his ankle and swallowed his knee. Losing his balance, Emil fell against the white hallway wall, using it as support as the pain grew and grew, so great he could no longer stand. Gritting his teeth, Emil tried not to scream, but it hurt too much, and—

The pain faded as quickly as it had come, leaving him panting and nauseated and so, so pale. Drops of blood splatted against the white tiled floor. His left knee hurt as much as it normally should, which was basically  _ not at all _ compared to the agony that had suddenly exploded across his nerves. 

Unsteady, he got back up onto his feet, a panic blooming in his chest that somehow didn’t feel like it belonged to him. He couldn’t explain it, but it wasn’t  _ his _ . Whatever was going on wasn’t good. He didn’t know why, but he was sure that it wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you think that i'd be nice? did you think that they'd meet and live a happily-ever-after?? 
> 
> haha! i'm afraid to say it's gonna be a little longer before the terato romance you all came here for really starts to bloom. the plot, however, is growing just nice and dandy. 
> 
> (...btw, i'm terribly sorry this took so long to post. i'd actually finished writing this chapter the day after i posted chapter 2, but the app i was writing on deleted everything, that disgusting TRAITOR! it took me a week to stop grieving my beautiful prose and rewrite this chapter, lmao.)
> 
> _____
> 
> for those wondering, "aşkim" means "my love" in turkish.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sometimes you gotta risk your life for the person you love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's not considered stealing if the monster in question should never have been held captive in the first place, right?

Emil continued down the hallway, glancing behind him every ten seconds to make sure he wasn’t going to get caught. The more this night wore on, the more he regretted everything that led him up to this point. He’d rather be anywhere but here. 

The hallway was a little creepy, to be honest. Between the lack of any colors, and the faint scent of chemicals, and how far underground it was, and its suspicious cleanliness… it unnerved him. This hallway gave off the impression that it wasn’t _just_ clean — nothing could possibly live here. A fly would land and die among whatever cleaning agent this hallway had been scrubbed with.

What unnerved him even more was how strong that inner pull had grown. He felt like he physically couldn’t turn around, like there was something dragging him deeper into this creepy laboratory. Helpless to its call, Emil walked farther in. He tried every door as he passed it by, but the first three didn’t budge. They were heavy metal ones, and the morbid curiosity about what lay behind — what was _locked_ in there — was killing him. 

The fourth door, however, swung open easily.

He took a peek around the room. The room held more machines he didn’t recognize, which this laboratory had no shortage of. More interestingly, there were diagrams pulled across the wall, detailing the biology of an animal he’d never seen before, and surely didn't belong on Earth. It looked so _alien._ And… if he looked closer… a little like that monster that had been stalking him. There were similarities too big to ignore. What, were they related? Same genus? 

Were there _more_ of that creature?!

Since there was not a lot more in the room, just a few charts and something that looked a little like a full-body scanner, Emil left and continued his search for whatever was wordlessly calling for him. It was getting stronger and louder the more time he spent down here.

A couple of the doors didn’t open, and a few did. There was a strange aquarium deep enough to reach the next two stories, holding a murky grey liquid. One room held nothing at all inside it. And the other room…

The call got louder, and he could’ve sworn he _heard_ it rather than felt the beckon. 

Emil walked into the room, eyes locking onto colorful wings, intelligent glowing eyes, and an obsidian body. 

Those glowing eyes widened, and the monster stood up abruptly, surprise evident.

A tidal wave of relief hit Emil. A little of it was his, and a lot of it belonged to the monster. He didn’t know how he knew that, but he did. Emil felt the presence of the monster in his mind, wondering— 

_‘you came…?_ ”

It took him a second to overcome the shock of hearing an unfamiliar voice, smooth and warm, talking so clear and yet without sound. “I— of course,” Emil responded out loud, getting as close to the monster as he dared. The monster pressed itself against the glass in its effort to close the distance between them, eyes scared but hopeful. Emil might’ve originally come down here just to find Ozlem, but he’d save this creature too. Nobody deserved to be locked up in this laboratory from hell. 

_‘please help me.'_

_‘i will,’_ Emil thought, hoping the monster could hear his promise. 

An immense burst of gratitude hit him, which Emil took to mean that the monster had. So… that was new. Telepathy? Interesting. The mental intrusion felt weird. Yet, as odd as it may sound, the monster’s voice _fit_. It fit in his mind, like a puzzle piece slotting comfortably into place among the rest of his being, not crowding but completing his mind, if that made sense. 

It didn’t, really, but that’s what it felt like: the monster belonged with him, because together they were beautiful, they were _one—_

Emil blinked, and backed away from the glass. What was that?! What kind of musings did his inner monologue just plunge into? Ignoring that burst of insanity, Emil glanced around the room, looking for a way to break the monster out of its prison. That gun hanging on the wall would be too loud; shooting glass was incredibly dangerous. There weren’t any keys he could see — not that he even knew how the glass prison would open — and nothing looked like it would help. A desk, a stack of crates, those bright white lights that lit up the room and buzzed annoyingly… 

_‘there’s a card in the desk,’_ the monster told him, words gentle yet anxious as they floated through his mind.

Emil opened the drawer in the desk, shuffled through its contents, and picked up a card that could have easily passed as a credit card. Up close, one could see the DNA-planet logo and the words printed: LEVEL 10 CLEARANCE. He rubbed his thumb across it, sensing the complex pattern of grooves and bumps raised above the smooth material. 

Moving quickly, Emil went back to the containment unit, craning his neck to look up at the tall creature. “What now?”

Silent, it stared back at him, having comprehended nothing he just said. 

_‘what now?’_ Emil asked with his thoughts.

_‘hold it in front of the red blinking light until the light turns green.’_

Emil did what he was told, waiting only a few seconds as the card was scanned. A high-pitched beep sounded, and then the glass split as a doorway formed. The edges of the door were near invisible otherwise, and for a second he thought the glass had soundlessly broken, rather than pull apart. Emil stepped aside to let the monster free. It kept swiveling its head around, looking in every direction like something might attack it unexpectedly. 

—

it took everything in him not to jump the human right then and there. after being painfully ripped apart just as the spark of their bond flickered into life, he’d been going crazy, his entire body protesting at the fact that his mate wasn’t there after they’d finally been _so close_. 

...but he was now! he was right there! 

unfortunately, now wasn’t the time and this hellhole wasn’t the place. it just wasn’t safe enough for that sort of thing. the only solution would be to go someplace far away where it would be safe enough to nurture their intimate connection and, hopefully, get what he’d been craving for so long now. 

it was baffling to think that just a few weeks ago he’d still been debating whether he was hunting the boy or not. and now here he was, needing to escape this laboratory of a hundred nightmares, planning on _eloping_ with that very same human! his entire nervous system was agitated and jumpy with anticipation.

the human looked up at him, and spoke with words that weren’t audible to anyone but the two of them. _‘i have to find my friend. do you have any idea where she is?’_

if his mate spoke of that girl from earlier, then he wasn’t entirely too pleased with looking for her. something about her unsettled him deeply. maybe it was the threat she posed to him as this human boy’s _rightful_ lover? 

if that girl wanted his mate, he’d tear her throat out. he’d paint the floor with her blood, no hesitation. this boy belonged to _him_ , and him alone. 

_‘no, i don’t.’_

the boy sighed, speaking aloud to himself in that language the monster didn’t understand. _‘let’s go.’_

the door swung open.

—

With lightning speed, the monster stepped in front of Emil, raising his wings to fully obscure him from whoever had just opened the door. The monster hissed threateningly, and a complex burst of notes and sounds left its throat in quick succession. 

Horrifyingly, whatever it was that the monster was blocking the view to responded in much the same manner. Unnatural — dare he say _extraterrestrial_ — noises flew back and forth across the room. 

—

“what have you got there behind you?” 

“nothing.”

“how did you get out?”

“you don’t need to know!”

“but don’t i? we just went through so much effort to get you back, and you’ve somehow found a way to get out again! i see now that i have severely underestimated you.” the researcher moved to see what was behind the monster’s back, but every time the monster shifted positions in his effort to hide it. “i hope you’re not trying to do anything you’ll regret.”

“i won’t regret anything.”

the blond sighed, frustration evident in his tone. “in the nicest terms possible, _i can and will hurt you_. so tell me, since i’m going to find out some way or another: what are you hiding?” lucky him, he saw it. reflected in the glass he spotted a sliver of an image, but it was enough. he stilled, and leaned against the doorway, casually and subtly slipping his hand into his pocket, fingers ghosting over the buttons on the small device.

“you won’t get the chance. i’m going to kill you.”

“it’s ridiculous that you think you can. i know everything about you, but how much do you know about me, really? barely anything! i know your fighting style. i know your weaknesses, and know how to negate your strengths.” he paused, purposefully raising the tension in the room and making sure he had all of the monster’s attention. when he was absolutely certain the monster was hanging onto his words and ignoring his actions, he spoke. “i _also_ know that you get distracted when protecting someone you love.”

“what?!”

he pressed a button, and the alarm set off, throwing the entire facility into blaring, screaming noise and red light. an automated message alerted everyone on all 15 floors: “CODE 37 — INTRUDER ALERT. SUSPECT IS TO BE APPREHENDED IMMEDIATELY. CODE 37 — INTRUDER ALERT. SUSPECT IS TO B...” the alarm repeated itself over and over, impossibly loud. 

while the monster cried out in pain (that noise was deafening!) and tried to cover his ears, the researcher strode over to the wall and yanked the gun out of its spot, turning it on the teen he’d caught a glimpse of. 

“now, who are you?” he inquired, raising his voice over the noise. “astonishing feat, getting in here. would you mind telling me how, so i can fix that hole in our security?”

too stunned to respond, the teen glanced back and forth between the head researcher’s prized experiment, and the leader of the project himself. 

the monster, having finally grown used to the disorienting alarm, turned to glare at the head researcher. if he reached out with that special sense he alone harbored, he could hear the echoes of murder in the blond’s head, the ravenous and violent glee behind his eyes, the unending hunger for knowledge no one should learn that had plagued his remorseless mind since his birth.

he wanted to hurt the boy. how dare he? how dare he threaten that blessed fountain of happiness? 

primal rage flooded him, and “19” threw himself at the researcher, silvery teeth digging deep into the flesh. the gun went off, a bullet ricocheting off the walls. 

—

The fight was vicious. Emil tried to stay out of the way, but they were taking up the whole space in their battle to the death. Not even seconds after the monster had launched himself at whatever it was speaking to, a gunshot had gone off, and then the gun itself came hurtling at him, tossed aside in the carelessness of battle. Keeping wary of the fight, he bent down and picked it up. He didn’t _exactly_ know how to use guns, but then again, he didn’t plan to.

(If he was lucky, he could just use it as a threat, and never have to pull that trigger. Nobody would know whether or not he could shoot it, so he’d just point it at anyone who got too close. They wouldn’t dare take the chance that he was bluffing, would they?) 

Surprisingly, the thing that the monster was fighting turned out to be a… human? That didn’t seem right. No humans make noises like that. Whatever he was, the blond was effortlessly dodging the monster’s attacks. He danced around those blade-sharp wings and talons, unflinching and unworried. 

As he watched, Emil was aghast to see his something moving under the surface of his skin. It was momentary, just a flash of an image, but he could’ve sworn he saw the man’s flesh shift inside his body, a noticeable twitch in his arm that shouldn’t have been where it was. 

What the hell was that?

Nauseated by that brief sight, Emil swallowed down his urge to gag, and swiftly ducked in time to avoid getting hit by the leg of the desk, which the monster had ripped off and was attempting to skewer the blond’s body with. The man threw a punch that briefly stunned the monster, and then caught the monster’s jaw as it was attempting to bite him. Forcing the monster’s mouth closed and straining to keep it that way, the man venomously hissed inhuman words. He drove his knee into its side, who wheezed as the blunt hit drove the air out of its lungs.

That wasn’t good. When had the tide turned in the blond’s favor?

Nervous as all hell, Emil lifted the gun and looked through the tiny scope. Taking aim, Emil took a deep breath, steadying himself.

A loud bang — Emil pulled the trigger. 

The man staggered back, releasing the monster, who immediately hopped backwards to take a second to reorient itself and think of what to do. It threw a scared look at Emil. 

_‘it’s not safe! run!’_

Emil was too busy staring in horror at the man, who had begun to laugh. Blood stains bloomed across his white shirt, right over his heart. He wasn’t dying. A nasty wound was visible through a tear in the cloth. The flesh was growing back, mending and leaving no trace of scarring or anything. _He wasn’t dying._

“It won’t be _that_ easy.” the blond assured. He was bemused that Emil had tried shooting him, as if it was terribly obvious that wouldn’t work. 

The monster picked Emil up, held him close and rushed past the blond before he’d fully recovered, fleeing down the hall and towards the elevator as quickly as he could, wings tucked against his body for minimum wind resistance. Together they skidded to a halt, and the monster pried the elevator doors open. Already far below, the elevator cart was sinking deeper into the darkness, only lit up by a few faint lights in the elevator shaft. 

_‘hold me tight,’_ the monster directed. Emil did, wrapping his arms around its neck. Heat flooded him at the contact. This creature’s body temperature was naturally warmer than a human’s, and for the first time that night, Emil ceased to feel that bone-chilling cold that had sunk into him during his hike in the mountains. He didn’t want to let go, and that was a good thing, because right then the monster crawled into the elevator shaft and began to climb up. If Emil let go now, he’d fall to his death.

The monster scaled the vertical walls easily, claws digging into the grooves of the concrete and pulling them higher out of that vertical tunnel of despair. Once it reached the top, it held itself up and _kicked_ the elevator doors out. Jesus, how strong were its legs?!

That, of course, immediately caught the attention of everyone nearby. Grip tightening around the stolen gun, Emil pointed it at the closest person, who was in the control room at the time and had screamed when the doors suddenly burst open. The monster dragged itself out of the elevator shaft, setting Emil down on the solid ground and baring its teeth at the employee. Its wings shifted hues, constructing a pattern that undoubtedly displayed its threats of aggression. 

_‘we’re getting out of here.’_

Emil tried to open the door that he’d come in through, but it wouldn’t move. In a burst of lucidity among his panic, he recalled that he’d tucked the keycard in his pocket, and pulled it out. Quick scan, and the door opened for them. The two ran through into the abandoned wing, past the demolished ceiling and piles of debris, past the weird machines, and out into the weak grey light.

Apparently, morning had arrived while Emil was down there, and he’d never been happier to see the sunshine in his life. He took a deep breath of the fresh air. It froze his lungs, but he couldn’t bring himself to care at all. 

Standing outside in a remote wilderness location and witnessing the sky lighten was a _million_ times better than the crushing weight he’d felt trapped in that facility beneath the mountain. He could’ve cried. Honestly, he could’ve. Air had never tasted sweeter.

Emil didn’t get a lot of time to enjoy his peaceful respite, because the monster grabbed him again, pulling him into its warm embrace, and shot off into the sky with one powerful flap of its bio-luminescent wings. 

Flying, he concluded, was a startling mixture of terrifying and magical. 

On one hand, the view was lovely from up above, fantastically far from the ground. 

On the other hand, he was hundreds of feet in the air, scarily far from the ground.

It took a considerable amount of self-control to not pass out with dizzy terror. He kept reminding himself: _‘It won’t drop me, I’ll be fine, I won’t die as a bloody smudge on the rock, everything’s okay.”_ It did little to calm his acrophobic reaction. No matter how he looked at it, the facts remained the same: he was higher up in the sky than any human had a right to be. To avoid thinking about how big of a splat he’d make if he fell, Emil busied himself with intensely studying the monster’s gleaming feathers. In the salmon pink light from the sunrise, he could make out the finer details of the quills, so close to a bird’s but _not quite_ avian. 

He came to the conclusion, right there, that this monster was immaculate and alluring in every way. 

—

they’d left that cursed range far behind, and he’d flown over six cities before he finally decided to land. he had to be very careful not to hurt the human boy, so he set him down first before landing just a few feet away from him. it was a little rough, but he did it, with no additional injuries added to either of their growing collections. speaking of injuries, he'd caught the scent of blood off the human boy, and made a mental note to investigate it later. even a single injury on the human was one too many, in his opinion. 

after he’d first escaped, the monster had continuously been on the move. he traveled half the world, found the best places and worst places to live, and only returned to his first home out of a sad sort of nostalgia. at that point he saw his mate for the first time, and… well, now he’s here. life had always been unpredictable.

but yes, returning to the topic, he had scouted out multiple outstanding locations, and decided to take his mate to the closest one. there were better places out there, definitely: there was a lovely redwood forest in the pacific northwest, and this very interesting chain of volcanic islands that looked beautiful and rained extraordinarily often. unfortunately, all of those stunning locations were _way_ too far away, and he knew he couldn’t make the trip, not when he was this tired. 

this location, the one he just landed in, was perfect for the time being, specifically because of its waters. an amazing natural hot spring resided here, secluded enough from the public that they could rest, but also close enough to a city that he could easily get something for the human to eat. 

it was pretty concerning when he turned back around to look at the boy, hoping to have pleased him, and instead saw him sink to the ground, breathing hard. worried, he moved closer, but paused when the human scooted backwards and away from him. did he do something wrong?

_‘i forgot to save ozlem!’_ he said, thoughts panicky and growing disjointed. 

why was the boy so scared? _‘it’s alright.’_

_‘no, it’s not! i’m a terrible friend! and those people— who the hell are they? are they after me? are they after you? that man, he survived a bullet wound! he can’t die! he can’t die but he wants to kill us both, and they have so many weapons on their side and what do i have?? nothing! nothing at all! i don’t even know how to use this gun, and i—”_

the monster closed the distance between them and pulled the human into a tight embrace, trying to send waves of calmness across their invisible bond. if his words wouldn't communicate it, maybe unfiltered emotion would.

struggling, the human tried to pry himself away. the monster caught a scent of fear and anxiety, and only held him tighter. _‘you’re okay,’_ he soothed. _‘i’ll protect you.’_

it took a whole minute before those soft words finally registered in his panicking brain. the monster could tell when he finally broke through that wall of fear by the way the human relaxed in his hold, a surge of contentedness and serenity washing away his adrenaline.

“i’m just... so _tired_ ,” he mumbled. the monster didn’t quite understand his spoken words, but he could feel exhaustion flooding the human’s body, and decided that they both needed to rest. he lifted the boy, carefully, and walked closer to the water where the heat and steam could warm them both. 

—

Emil was panicking for a second there, but now he wasn’t. The monster told him to calm down, and suddenly he did. 

The reality that he hadn’t slept in close to 24 hours caught up to him, and Emil found himself struggling to keep his eyes open. After running, and fighting, and just generally being terrified for the entire night, he felt worn out entirely. His body was running on a last few wisps of energy, which were quickly running out.

He didn’t even resist it when the monster picked him up again, carrying him somewhere. Emil was _way_ too tired to do anything but let the monster do whatever it wanted.

_Whatever it wanted_ turned out to be laying down on the ground, curling around Emil and using its — his? he _felt_ like a male — wings as a blanket. Oh. Okay. So they were cuddling now. That’s… that’s cool.

It was weird that it made his face heat up. 

Through tired, blinking eyes (he really couldn’t keep them open much longer), Emil looked over the monster’s lithe body. His thin waist, long legs, talons, those strong wings and brilliant colors. And his glowing eyes… Emil’s heart picked up, embarrassed that the monster could probably sense his unusual flurry of emotions. 

The monster shifted, moving impossibly closer, and now their bodies were pressed together, no space between them. 

Butterflies worked up a hurricane in his stomach.

He realized he should probably do something about their incredibly close proximity, or the fact that heat stirred in his gut and his blood was rushing to the wrong places, but he really couldn’t. As drained of energy as he was, all Emil could do was let his consciousness drift away, content and comfortable within this warm embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> over 10,000 words in and they finally talk to one another! holy shit! that took too long, didn't it?
> 
> i hope that cuddle at the end makes up for the torture i've put you all through with the previous chapter, lmao.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whew, this one's a bit long, and some new POVs have been introduced! now, what exactly are they planning?
> 
> brief warning for some violence and injuries, although if you've already made it this far in the story, it probably won't bother you.

Contrary to popular belief, the true outcome of his little adventure earlier did not belong in one of three categories. It belonged in a fourth and _ much worse _ one. Something a lot more dangerous. 

—

Emil’s nonexistent corpse was never found by hikers, but his family was indeed losing it. 

Amber and Freyr Rhodes were about to tear their little town apart looking for their missing son. They both wondered, in that despairing way, how something like this could happen. Why them? Why would such tragedy strike their loving family? Emil was such a nice kid! He wouldn’t run away like that, which only worried them more. It was a strange mix between feeling betrayed and feeling terrified, depending on what actually happened — and they  _ didn’t _ know what happened, which allowed their imaginations to run wild. 

Did he join a gang? Did someone  _ force _ him to join a gang?

Was he kidnapped? Murdered? 

Did he elope with a secret girlfriend he never told his parents about?

Since he disappeared during the night, they simply couldn’t tell. If he’d been planning to run away, he had done a good job of hiding it. They’d already assured the police more than once that he’d never shown any symptoms of being unhappy in their home, and that he never even got crushes on the girls in his school, let alone start dating. He was never suspiciously secretive, he didn’t hang around with the wrong kinds of groups, and no — Amber was so  _ sure _ — he wouldn’t run away without even leaving a note! 

Still, the police refused to send out a full search party until at least 24 hours had gone by, saying stupid things like “Statistically speaking, teens usually return home in that time frame,” and “Ma’am there’s no need to yell, be patient,” and “It’s simply too early to know for sure. Does he have any friends he might turn to in a state of emotional distress?”

WHY is everyone tasked with keeping this town safe an absolute idiot?! Emil didn’t run away! They’re dealing with an abduction, not teenage angst!

Amber did, however, follow the law enforcement’s advice and call her own and her son’s friends. The first thing she did was alert them to the new development, then ask if they’d seen or heard from him. None of them had, but they offered their weak condolences and prayers.

That was when she learned what had happened with Emil’s best friend, Ozlem. 

Immediately, her brain’s gears sped up as she processed and analyzed the information. Apparently, the night that Emil went missing, his closest friend was found passed out somewhere in the mountains? That... that didn’t sound good. That didn’t sound good at all.

Unsure of the implications, this information only left Amber with more anxiety. There was something going on here, something big, so why couldn’t she see it? A hundred explanations presented themselves, but none of them seemed  _ right _ . Call it intuition or just a gut feeling... but Amber was quite sure that there was something missing in this puzzle. There was something important she didn’t know.

What she did know was that Emil had been kidnapped, Ozlem (while not responsible) had something to do with it, and the police were acting... off. Cold. Secretive, even. They kept pushing for her not to worry, for her to just leave it be. That didn’t seem normal, now did it? 

No. It didn’t. 

That meant they were involved with this, too. It scared her, but she couldn’t deny the facts — the police, those who are supposed to keep everyone safe and right the wrongs — were trying to cover something up. 

It felt like Amber’s entire world was breaking up into chaos.

Right then and there, after being told to “calm down” for the thirteenth time, Amber decided to put things into her own hands. If no one else was going to do it, she’d get her son back herself, no matter what. 

For now, however, she busied herself with comforting her husband, who had turned extremely pale in the last few hours. Amber rubbed her hand on Freyr’s back, softly telling him to  _ breathe.  _ “It’s okay, we’ll find him,” she promised.

“I can’t believe this is happening…”

“I know,” she said sympathetically. Her voice was as calm as she could get it, despite the storm of emotions within. “But we’ll fix this, right?”

Freyr took in a shuddering breath, shutting his eyes against an onslaught of tears. “They’re hiding something.”

“You noticed it too, huh.”

“How could I not?”

“So we’re gonna do it ourselves. If the police won’t, we can search for our son.”

He seemed to perk up at that, turning watery and panicked eyes to his wife. She held one of his hands in between both of hers, hoping the contact would ground him in this moment, and not the nightmarish possibilities circulating his imagination. She hoped that the warmth shared between their skin would be the silent reassurance his eyes so openly pleaded for. “How would we possibly do that?”

She nodded her acknowledgement to his worries, and sighed tiredly. “I’ll admit, I don’t know that, but—”

He interrupted, snapping at her. “Your intuition tells you so? Can I even trust that? It’s not concrete, it’s not a given, it’s just a  _ feeling! _ ”

“I was  _ going to say _ : we can figure it out. Together. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty tired of feeling helpless. I’m not asking you to believe in a gut feeling, I’m asking you to be willing to fight against the world and make sure that it — getting our son back to safety — happens. Destiny can go fuck itself. This isn’t a matter of intuition, it’s a matter of  _ willpower _ .”

Finally, Freyr felt like he could breathe again. “Oh— Okay.” Her words brought him some comfort. Not enough, but he really doubted he could ever truly relax until he saw Emil again with his own two eyes. “Okay. I can do that.”

And so it was decided.

—

It wasn’t a good time to be anywhere near the laboratory right now. 

Dr. Breyt was absolutely, terrifyingly livid.

“Frid.” The blond demon turned to him, his expression scarily cold and controlled. If you didn’t know him well, you might walk into this room and think that there were simply two scientists calmly having a discussion in the break room, no problems to be found anywhere. However, Dr. Fridmarson had spent enough time here to know that wasn’t the case. That wasn’t even close. It had taken some years, but by now he could read Breyt’s microexpressions and the tiny gestures that gave his true emotions away as easily as one can read the words off a book.

“Yes, sir?”

He leaned against the table in the breakroom casually, but Dr. Fridmarson noted the way his hands clenched the table edge. “Who gave you that wound?”

No doubt he was talking about the stab wound on his shoulder. It still bled a little when he moved, staining the white bandages wrapped tightly to make sure he didn’t bleed to death, as he hadn’t gotten the chance to get stitches yet. Hell, he didn’t even get the chance to put on a new shirt. “The boy did.”

“So he got close enough to you to stab you.” That was a statement, not a question.

“Yes. He did.”

“Which means you could’ve captured him? And this whole mess wouldn’t have happened?” 

Ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach, Dr. Fridmarson nodded. “Yes… but—”

“I DON’T want excuses.”

There’s no good way to go about this. Dr. Fridmarson sighed. “Why am I here?” He was probably one of the few who’d actually managed to stick around long enough to gain a tiny bit of respect from Breyt. That meant that he was one of the few who could ask a question like that and not immediately get punished for it. 

Still, Dr. Breyt’s eyes narrowed. “Why are  _ any _ of us here?” he shot back, stubbornly refusing to explain his motives.

“Uh. I don’t underst—”

“I need that knife.”

He knew better than to ask it, but at this point, Fridmarson knew his execution had been signed off. “Why?”

The blond raised a single eyebrow, a mix of disbelief and irritation that  _ could’ve _ passed for amusement. Was his employee really asking him why? Did he really dare to do that? “I need it,” he repeated. 

Yeah, he was dead for sure. “But why? I’m the one who got it lodged in my shoulder. Finder is keeper, right?”

“Oh, if only I was there to see that moment,” he muttered. “Would’ve  _ loved _ it.”

Whatever mood he was in, it was certainly unsettling. At the same time, knowing there was no way he’d leave this breakroom alive, Dr. Fridmarson felt a bit liberated. He felt free to no longer fear his interactions with this inhuman man.

“Sure you would. You’re a monster.”

Dr. Breyt looked up at him, expression once again trying to be emotionless. “What did you just call me?” Yes, he was trying to be indifferent, but there was a hint of caution and fear. 

Now it was Dr. Fridmarson’s turn to smile. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? I’ve been working here for a  _ decade _ , Breyt. Seriously, for all your intelligence, you’ve slipped up multiple times when it comes to guarding that secret. You say you’ve only experimented a  _ little bit _ on yourself, that you changed  _ just enough _ to improve your body from its human origin.”

The blond eyes him suspiciously, standing straighter and more stiffly. Dr. Fridmarson realized he wasn’t just scared: he was poised to attack. 

Good. Let him.

“...But I don’t think you even were human to begin with, were you?”

He was tackled before he could even blink.

Dr. Breyt threw him to the floor, climbing on top of him and holding him down with inhuman strength, a hand curling around his neck like he craved to feel the other’s last dying breath as if shuddered underneath his palm. “So what?” he snarled, his other hand finding the wound on Fridmarson’s shoulder and pushing against the bloody opening. It hurt like hell, and the human scientist had to bite down to stop himself from screaming. 

“So what?” he hissed through gritted teeth, throwing his knee  _ hard _ into Dr. Breyt’s stomach, who wheezed upon impact but didn’t let go. “So NOTHING! I know your secret, so just kill me already!”

“You wouldn’t have brought it up unless it matters, which leads me to believe that you’re hiding something!”

“No, you’re just a paranoid psychopath! I’m not hiding anything, and besides, that’s a REAL hypocritical accusation coming from  _ YOU _ of all people!” He was using up all his air to speak, and that was quickly becoming apparent. Lightheaded, he attempted to kick the man off him again, but it didn’t work. The grip on his throat was only growing tighter, cutting off his air supply and leaving him gasping. 

“Stop lying to me.” 

All he got was an offended wheeze in response. Realizing his mistake, Dr. Breyt let up the pressure on Fridmarson’s throat, moving his hand to pin him down instead of asphyxiate him. This left Dr. Fridmarson in a coughing fit, his body gratefully sucking in that precious oxygen, his vision returning from that black void it’d been teetering on the edge of. Apparently, a lack of air combined with someone clawing the bandages away from a stab wound will do that to a person.

“Talk. Now.”

“About what? The weather? I’m not good at small talk, you kn—  _ AAH _ !”

His own scream interrupted his words when Breyt abruptly dug his thumb into the wound on his shoulder. He could feel the blood pouring out again. 

“ _ Talk _ ,” he ordered threateningly. 

“You want the knife because it has the boy’s DNA on it, don’t you? Why?”

“I didn’t say you could ask questions. However, you are right. Good job, Frid. You’re a smart man. So if you’re so smart, what  _ do _ you think I am?”

“A sadist, for sure.”

He laughed dryly at that.

“You’re a… hybrid. An abomination, just like all 22 of our ‘projects’ —but you’re better at hiding it, aren’t you? Yes, because you can change forms. Humans didn’t make you, but  _ someone _ did. You want revenge.”

Dr. Breyt bent down, closing the distance between them. “Who, then? Who made me?”

The realization dawned on him. 

_ Vulnerability _ . That was an emotion Fridmarson never could’ve imagined he’d see in Breyt’s eyes. 

“You don’t know, do you?”

Utter emotional pain. It was written clear as day, all across his tense body. The silence stretched on and on, both men staring at each other, daring the other to move first.

A look of defeat passed over him, and Dr. Breyt sat back, considering what to do next. He didn’t even know how to respond. How could this human read him so easily? And why did he feel so scared all of a sudden?

Dr. Fridmarson grinned wickedly. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

The blond atrocity remained silent. He should kill the human. That would fix everything.

“Jeez, you look downright anguished. Is it something I said?”

Part of him wanted to scream, and that surprised him. He’d never felt this helpless in his life, and he was the one who held that human’s life in his hands. How dare Dr. Fridmarson make him feel this weak? How dare he peer into his soul so effortlessly? 

“Just kill me already. I know you want to.”

That snapped him out of his thoughts. He took a breath to collect himself, and glared down at the man underneath him. “I don’t want that. You’re not  _ allowed _ to die,” he bit out, voice strained with the effort to stay calm. “No... You’re still useful.”

In an instant, Dr. Fridmarson regretted everything. His eyes went wide. Dying was one thing. Dying, he could  _ do _ that. If Breyt wanted to keep him alive, that meant his life was about to become hell on Earth.

“You can’t just throw words like that at me and not expect retaliation.” He laughed, but it sounded unhinged. “ _ Abomination _ ? Is that what you think of me?”

“I—”

He leaned down again, whispering words with a voice as sharp as icy blades. “If that’s the case,” he started, looking down at the human with barely contained rage, “I’m going to make you just like me. I want you to feel everything I felt. Do you know how much agony this is? Being cramped in this pathetic form? I’m going to hurt you, and you’re going to stay awake for every second as I shred your humanity beyond repair and turn you into something  _ horrifying _ .”

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t—

— 

Emil blinked the sleep from his eyes, somehow still exhausted despite getting rest. For some strange reason, his body  _ ached,  _ so much he was reminded of that one time he participated in a marathon he hadn’t been prepared for. Did he sleep in the wrong position? His bed was strangely hard. That might have caused it, but… 

Wait. 

Correction: The  _ ground _ was hard.

Emil shot up, heartbeat stuttering. The memories of the past 30-ish hours came rushing back in an instant, and he turned to look at the strange being sleeping peacefully next to him. 

“God, my life’s insane,” Emil realized, mind reeling. 

He looked over himself, finally having the time to check up on his own well-being now that he’s crossed “ _ survive _ ” and “ _ get some sleep _ ” off his checklist. 

And… yikes. Big yikes. He looked terrible.

Between the dirt covering his clothes and skin, that ugly gash on his leg, the bruises littering his body, and the general weariness that made his stiff limbs feel like brittle iron… he wasn’t in good shape. 

Not to mention that his stomach was trying to digest itself. God, he felt  _ hollow _ .

Beside him, the monster shifted and opened his eyes, immediately checking to see that Emil was still there. Relieved that Emil hadn’t ran away, he stretched all six of his limbs and yawned, standing up to greet the day. 

Emil wanted to get up too… but now that he could pay attention to it, he noticed his injured leg felt really  _ numb _ , so he couldn’t stand up, and that was scary. Since he couldn’t manage to stand, he pushed himself weakly towards the steaming water, dipping a finger in to check the temperature. The serene spring water felt hot, but not too hot. It was perfect. Not even bothering to take his clothes off (other than the shoes and socks obviously), Emil dragged himself towards the edge and dropped himself cautiously into the water, feeling the cryptid’s curious gaze tracking his every movement.

It stung his wounds, and Emil sucked in a breath to keep himself from crying out. Despite that discomfort, the warm water soothed his other pains, relaxing his stiff muscles and quelling that ever-present anxiety that had plagued him since this whole mess got started. He took another deep breath, enjoying the warm steam, and winced when he saw red diffusing into the rest of the pool, thickest and most vibrant around his leg. He  _ really _ had to check that out soon. Should cuts bleed this much? 

Emil was startled out of his thoughts when that pretty creature slid into the water beside him, sending ripples out across the surface. He dipped below the clear water, apparently taking a bath. The human followed suit, scrubbing his arms and legs, although he remained hesitant to unclothe, even if he knew he had to in order to dry his clothing. 

He spared another glance at his companion, busy combing through his not-quite-feathers. He looked pretty distracted by the task. 

And really, at this point, did it even matter? That cryptid wasn’t exactly wearing clothing either, so it shouldn’t matter to him if Emil undressed, right? Right. It wouldn’t be weird unless either of them made it weird, and they wouldn’t, so it was fine.

Emil slipped his shirt and pants off with a bit of struggling — (wet clothes stick to the skin worse than glue) — and laid them flat on the rocks to dry next to his shoes. There were some pretty obvious holes in the fabric, meaning he’d have to either get out a sewing kit or throw them away once he got home.

...If he got home. Emil shuddered to think about it. His parents didn’t even know where he was right now. For all they knew, he could be dead! They must be worried sick.

_ ‘are you okay?’ _ asked a gentle voice in his mind.

Oh, right. Emil almost forgot they could do that.  _ ‘yes,’ _ he lied.  _ ‘i’m alright.’ _

He waded closer to the young human, looking him over with concern. _‘i see blood. you’re injured.’_

Emil pointed at his left leg, lifting it out of the water so his companion could see the wound better.  _ ‘i scraped it.’ _

A startling wave of worry hit him.  _ ‘that’s not a scrape!!’ _ the cryptid’s telepathic voice exclaimed.  _ ‘how can you call that just a scrape?! doesn’t it hurt?’ _

_ ‘i can’t feel it, actually.’ _

That next shockwave of anxiety was practically debilitating.  _ ‘WHAT?’  _ The monster gently grabbed his leg and pulled it closer to him to inspect the wound.  _ ‘that’s infected. you need medical attention!’ _

He ignored the flare of embarrassment.  _ ‘and how am i gonna get it? i don’t even have any clothes on. am i supposed to limp into the city… soaking wet, bruised, cut, and naked?’  _

After saying it out loud, Emil realized how bad his situation sounded, and cringed.

The colorful patterns on his companion's body shifted restlessly, and Emil could tell exactly how upset the monster was as wave after wave of orange faded into red and into pink and into bright orange once again. 

_ ‘hey, uh… it’s okay. we can figure something out. maybe after my clothes dry, we can go to the city together. it can wait, okay? i won’t die in the next hour.’ _

_ ‘together? they’ll kill me.’ _

His companion carefully lowered his leg back into the water, and Emil sighed, staring blankly at the stones underneath as if they would supply an answer. That’s when an idea struck him.  _ ‘can you camouflage yourself?’ _

_ ‘a little. why do you— oh…’  _

The human grinned.  _ ‘it could work. you only have to take me as far as the city limits. i’m sure i can at least find my way to a pharmacy from there.’  _

_ ‘i’ll be watching you from above. i don’t want you to get hurt.’  _

Emil nodded, relieved that the secondhand anxiety was finally disappearing.  _ ‘i can even get some food while i’m there. don’t know about you, but i’m so hungry i think i might pass out. do you want anything?’  _

Saying that so casually, like he was just going on a quick trip to the store a block away from his home, struck Emil as so absurdly  _ normal _ that he almost laughed. Or maybe he was just so lightheaded that he found anything to be amusing? 

The creature tilted his head, thinking.  _ ‘i don’t know what i would like. get yourself something  _ you  _ enjoy.’ _

He nodded his confirmation again.  _ ‘okay, will do; just gotta wait for my clothes to dry first.’ _ He let himself sink back under the water until everything under his nose was submerged, and closed his weary eyes to enjoy the moment.

It didn’t even scare him anymore when the monster pulled him close. It actually felt quite nice, albeit very awkward, and Emil sorta froze up… even if he knew he wasn’t going to get hurt.

Hold on. Considering they’d only _really_ _met_ just a day ago, were they even on a cuddle-underwater-together basis yet? Did this pretty cryptid see him _— or the both of them—_ as something like…?

It made sense now. 

It made sense why that monster had been stalking him. It made sense why he'd taken so much care to make sure they _both_ got out of that facility unharmed. Emil felt his cheeks redden at the realization, growing even warmer at the amount of contact they were having right now. 

He, additionally, was suddenly _very_ aware he was still _very_ much unclothed — at least he had on underwear, but  _ still _ — and his entire side was pressed up against the monster’s impossibly soft proto-feathers. Craning his neck to look up at him, Emil noticed how his glowing eyes were tracing his body curiously, unaware that he was also being watched. 

_ ‘do you… um. do you want me like  _ **_that —_ ** _?’ _

The pretty cryptid abruptly and violently choked on the water. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> careful there emil, you might kill him!
> 
> next chapter y'all can look forward to some fluff :) it's about time they get a chapter or two to themselves... and it's about time a certain someone gets a name.


End file.
